Royals on the Farm 7/18

AAA: Pitchers Kyle Snyder and Shawn Sonnier combined to allow 3 hits and a walk as Omaha took a 5-0 win in the opener vs. Round Rock Monday. Omaha scored 2 in the 4th on a 2-run homer by C Paul Phillips (his 5th) and added 3 in the 6th on a 3-run homer by 1B Chad Santos (his 14th). Omaha ended up with only 5 hits but the 2 homers did the job. The O-Royals also drew 6 walks. Snyder retired the first 17 batters as he went 6 IP and allowed 1 hit with 7 Ks to improve to 1-2 with a 2.45 ERA. Sonnier got his 1st AAA save of the year with 3 IP of 2 hits and a BB with 5 Ks to lower his ERA to 4.63. Phillips was 2-3 with a HBP, HR, 2 RBI and 2 RS to improve to .267; Santos was 2-4 with a double, HR and 3 RBI to move to .259; and DH Cal Pickering was 0-1 with 3 BB and 2 RS to drop to .245.

Omaha is 43-53 and 10 games back of first. Tonight's matchup: Express RH Brandon Duckworth (4-3, 4.19) vs. LH Chris George (6-6, 5.21).

AA: Wichita had Monday off in preparation for a 5-game set at Springfield (11-12) that starts tonight. Wichita is 13-10 and 2 games up on first. SP Ryan Baerlocher (2-2, 2.67) goes for Wichita tonight.

High-A: High Desert took an early 2-0 lead but the offense stopped there as Visalia won, 8-2. A passed ball scored 2B Pete Maestrales in the 1st and 1B Jared Price hit a solo homer (his 6th) in the 2nd to give High Desert a 2-0 lead but the Mavs would only manage 5 hits and 1 BB from there. SP Cesar Herrera went 7 innings and allowed 7 ER on 10 hits and 3 BB with 3 Ks as he dropped to 4-5 with a 6.28 ERA. RP Nate Moore went 1 IP and allowed 1 ER on 2 hits to bump his ERA to 4.66. Maestrales was 2-4 with a double to move to .321; SS Michael Gaffney was 1-4 to drop to .309; DH Billy Butler was 0-3 with a BB and 2 Ks to drop to .348; RF Alan Moye was 2-4 to up his BA to .277; and Price was 1-4 with the HR and RBI to drop to .317. 3B Brandon Powell was also 0-3 with a BB to drop to .304. Moye stole his 15th base.

High Desert is 14-11 and a 1/2 game back of Rancho Cucamonga. I appreciate the makeover for the Mavs site, but it just proves that you can paint an outhouse whatever color you want but it's still an outhouse. There isn't a whole lot of information on there and it isn't updated too often. I have to go to their opponents' site each series to get the pitching matchup, if I can get it from there. Tonight's pitching matchup courtesy of the Visalia Oaks' site: Oaks RHP Kevin Lynn (0-3, 10.02) vs. LHP John Gragg III (8-2, 3.75).

Low-A: The Burlington Bees won their 5th straight as a 5-run 2nd helped them to a 6-3 win over Clinton Monday. Three straight RBI singles by LF Kenard Springer, 1B Eddie Solis and CF Cody Cure got the Bees started and SS Irving Falu followed with an RBI ground out. A fielding error on a ball hit by C Damaso Espino allowed Cure to score and the Bees had their 5-0 lead. They tacked on a run in the 5th on a solo homer by DH Rusty Brown (his 11th) and coasted to the win as two pitchers combined on a 5-hitter. SP Daniel Christensen went 5 IP and allowed 2 ER on 4 hits and 2 BB with 7 Ks to improve to 2-4 with a 3.63 ERA. RP Yovany Damico got his 3rd save with 4 IP of 1 ER on 1 hit and 1 BB with 5 Ks to drop his ERA to 4.65. Brown was 3-5 with a HR, RBI and 2 RS to improve to .288; 3B Edward Lucas was 2-4 with 2 doubles to improve to .316; and Cure was 2-4 with a double and RBI to improve to .314. Falu stole his 15th base.

Burlington is 14-11 and 3 games back of first. SP Patrick Green (4-7, 4.28) goes for Burlington tonight as the Bees go for the sweep.

Rookie: Idaho Falls got shutout by Billings, 8-0, despite getting runners on in all but the 9th inning and loading the bases three times with less than 2 out. The Chukars got 7 hits and 8 BB but 0 runs. SP Ryan Dipietro got the loss with 4 IP of 3 R (2 ER) on 6 hits and a BB with a K to drop to 0-3 with a 7.71 ERA. RP Jacob Eckley went 2 1/3 IP and allowed 3 ER on 5 hits with 1 K to move his ERA to 4.15. RP Kevin Bulger went 1 2/3 IP and allowed 2 ER on 3 hits and 1 BB with 2 Ks to move his ERA to 13.50. CF Ethien Santana was 1-4 with a BB to drop to .354; SS Chris McConnell was 2-5 with a double to move to .387; 2B Gary Perez was 2-3 with 2 BB and a double to improve to .301; and C Brady Everett was 1-2 with a BB and HBP to improve to .395. Idaho Falls left 13 on base.

Idaho Falls is 14-13 and a game back of first-place Ogden. The series with Billings continues tonight.

The ASL Royals lost their second straight in an 8-4 loss to the Rangers Monday. The Rangers scored 5 in the first 3 innings against Royals SP Juan Abreu and never trailed. The Royals scored 3 in the 2nd on a 3-run homer by C Ross Boudreaux (his 1st) but didn't score again until the 7th on an RBI single by PH Valentino Arce. Abreu went 4 IP and allowed 5 ER on 6 hits and 2 BB with 3 Ks to drop to 1-2 with a 7.94 ERA. RP Gilbert De la vara went 3 IP and allowed 4 hits and a BB with 3 Ks to drop his ERA to 4.50. RP Troy Garrett went 2 IP and allowed 3 ER on 4 hits with 4 Ks to move his ERA to 7.04. SS Jeff Bianchi was 0-3 to drop to .449; Arce was 1-2 with an RBI to improve to .378; CF Joseph Dickerson was 1-3 with 2 BB and a double to move to .298; and RF Alvi Morel was 2-4 to improve to .400.

The ASL Royals are 15-7 and a game back of the Giants. They play the Cubs today and the Brewers tomorrow.